Texas woman supplied meth for sales in Harrison County

GULFPORT -- A Texas woman who supplied crystal meth, also called ice, for sales in Harrison County was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison.

A judge also ordered Rachel Saenz, 51, of Houston, to pay a $4,000 fine. She pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in December.

DEA agents identified Saenz as a meth supplier shortly after May 19 traffic stop in Harrison County, resulting in the arrest of two men.

The men, identified as Joseph W. Moran Jr., 38, of Saucier, and James D. Byrd, 51, of Vancleave, said a woman named "Poca" or "Pocahantas" sold them the meth earlier that day at a motel in Channelview, Texas. Undercover agents in Houston raided the motel room the same day, seizing additional meth and cocaine and arresting Saenz.

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During the investigation, DEA agents worked with local law enforcement officers in Houston to obtain video footage of Moran and Byrd going on Saenz's motel room and leaving with nearly a pound of meth.

In another indictment, Moran and Byrd pleaded guilty to interstate travel in aid of racketeering enterprises. They were sentenced in January.

In a related case, James "Jimmy" Robinson, 35, was accused in a meth-trafficking conspiracy related to Moran.

Court records say on one trip, Joseph Moran rented a van in D'Iberville and took cash with him on a trip to Los Angeles to buy several pounds of meth hidden in the lining of ice chest coolers.

A source provide authorities a picture of Robinson holding meth and the coolers, records say.

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